1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a security anchoring and electronic sensor system that readily adapts to curved surfaces of an article. In particular, the invention relates to such a security anchoring and electronic sensor system that is connected to an electronic alarm system for monitoring theft and vandalism of the article.
2. The Prior Art
It is known to attach an anchor to an article to be protected against theft by adhering the anchor to the article and attaching one end of a cable or cord to the anchor. The other end of the cable or cord is attached to a fixed support so that the article can only be moved a limited distance from the fixed support. The anchor is usually plastic and has an adhesive backing layer to attach the anchor to the article. The adhesive is strong enough so that a thief cannot readily peel the anchor from the article to detach the cable from the article. If the anchor cannot be readily peeled away from the article within 30-60 seconds, then this deters most thieves from trying to remove the anchor and steal the article.
Many prior art security anchors only work well on flat surfaces of an article, because the anchor is rigid and stays in one plane parallel to the surface of the article. If the article has a curved surface, the anchor can be pulled off with much less force. In addition, the non-resilient nature of the anchor urges the anchor to remain in its normal flat condition. Since the anchor cannot be flexed to adapt to curved surfaces, the nonresilient forces keep portions of the anchor away form the curved surface.
A solution to this problem has been proposed by U.S. Pat. No. 5,699,591 to Kane. This patent shows a security anchor that is adapted to adhere to curved surfaces without the anchor being peeled away. While this anchor solves the problem of attachment to curved surfaces, it suffers from the drawback of all of the prior art anchors in that the article can still be easily stolen if the thief cuts the cable attached to the anchor.
Another solution has been proposed by Product Theft Deterrent, which markets a sensor having a ribbed, flexible anchoring member connected to a diode and a switch. When the anchor is tampered with, the switch is triggered, which activates the diode and sends out an alarm. This device prevents tampering on some devices, but the one-way ribbed structure of the anchor prevents its use on irregular or spherical surfaces.